MOBILITY

OK .  .

So i’ll start off with the boring “What is mobility” stuff . .

Mobility is the ability to move a joint through controlled full range of motion. It is ACTIVE movement. You need to ACTIVELY be strong enough to product full-range of movement.

Flexibility, on the other hand is static holds, and relies on gravity and all that fancy science stuff. It’s passive, so strength is not required.

Stretching is a good idea but BACK UP just a second.

Why are you stretching in the first place ??

Something feels a bit tight . . but man you’ve got a deadlift session planned . . you can’t afford for ANYTHING to let you down . . so you lay on the ground, stretching out your hamstrings . . PRAYING that’s going to be the answer to your next PB.

We get so robotic in our thinking in that we have to stretch the piriformis, or the quads, or the rotator cuff, when our body is one WHOLISTIC moving mechanism . . if ONE THING feels tight . . one muscle . . you betcha other muscles along the chain are going to be feelin’ the slack too . . no ONE muscle is responsible for flexion and extension of our muscles . . what about the stabilizers that support those big muscles . . those little tiny stabilizers we simply can’t isolate and stretch . . so what do we need to do . . FLEXION & EXTENSION.

How do you know a muscle feels tight ? Because you’ve performed a particular MOVEMENT and something in that vicinity don’t feel right . . so it’s less about a particular MUSCLE than it is about the MOVEMENT . .

SOOO does it not make sense to INCLUDE that movement in your quest for full range of motion ?

Take a squat for example, feet shoulder width apart, head neutral, blah blah blah, on the way down to flexion (bottom position of the squat) . . something is holding you back in that HUGE butt region . . you can’t do ass to floor . . it’s no use GUESSING what muscle should be stretched . . because chances are it’s more than one . . if it’s your glutes .. probably be tight in the hamstrings . . the calves . . the ankle . . the heel chords . .

what we want to do is we want to mobilize ALL the stuff that’s going on in that area . . and create some space for those muscles to be free . . because we don’t KNOW what’s going on around the muscle that could be restricting range of motion . . could be any system . . could be a bone problem . . a joint-restriction problem . .a tissue inner-face problem . . and the only way to see that is to use ALL systems . .

think GLOBAL muscles . . not local muscles. Your brain is wired for movements, not muscles.

As an athlete, or any one that wants to reach their PB, you want to put yourself in the best possible position to express maximum output . . maximum strength . . maximum power.

If your hamstrings are tight, and you’ve got a shit load of load to lift . . your body will force you in a position with your knees in a forward dominant position . . maybe using more quads than hamstrings . .  you’re inevitably using more VO2 . . expending MORE ENERGY . . into making those opposing muscles work harder . . those stabilizer muscles work more than they should be working.

Mobility means power.

I’ve included a couple of mobility vids below to loosen you kids up a little bit . . these are AWESOME to do before a workout . . don’t take long . . 2 mins on each drill is plenty . . and you don’t want to spending time on areas you’re not going to be working in the workout or doesn’t feel tight at all . . it’s time that can be spent working another area . .  if you’re feeling tight in a particular area and you’re restricted . . focus a couple of drills on that just before you workout . .

 

This second drill kills !! All the attention is focused right on that one rib . . painful but very, very helpful . . the pain you feel during this exercise is a good thing . . once you finish the drill you’ll feel a LOT looser in the back.

ENJOY !!

Let me know how you guys go with these ones !!